Uber is set to arrive in Cumbria for the first time.
The ride share hailing company wants to open in Ulverston Business Centre and applied to Westmorland and Furness Council for a licence to operate for five years.
Members of the authority’s regulatory committee gave the firm the go ahead, but for three years.
The committee was told that the company already operated in the county as it was licensed by other local authorities and that was allowed under the current legislation.
The company uses an app for passengers to request a journey, rather than traditional taxi services which rely on a call handler. Current taxi services – hackney carriages and private hire firms – are licensed by the authority and subject to stringent checks, including the age of the vehicle used.
Uber drivers are not subject to the same checks. A report to councillors said: “Unlike hackney carriage and private hire drivers, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exemptions) (Amendment) Order 2002 does not apply to private hire operators.
“It is not possible to obtain an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check, however they can be asked to obtain a Basic Disclosure.
“The applicants have in fact supplied Westmorland and Furness Council with Basic DBS disclosures and no issues were identified.”
As part of the officers’ recommendations, the report said: “When determining the fitness and propriety of private hire operators, to enable consistent and informed decisions to be made it is important to have a working test, which is: ‘Would I be comfortable providing sensitive information such as holiday plans, movements of my family or other information to this person, and feel safe in the knowledge that such information will not be used or passed on for criminal or unacceptable purposes?’
“If the answer to this question is an unqualified yes, then the test is probably satisfied.”
During the meeting, a representative of Uber was asked about the company’s intended driver numbers in Westmorland and Furness.
They said that the company did not have a specific target or number in mind and the number would be driven by supply and demand.
